Fort Stiofán
Fort Stiofán is a garrison of The Watch located in House Brody, Duilintinn, near the border of House Jackie and House Schneeplestein. History Fort Stiofán began as the personal castle to some self-important person from Waldren, sometime after the year 1000 during the early days of their occupation. The inner walls, messenger towers, and a smaller set of guard towers were built during this time. However, in the centuries of Waldren’s absentee rule, the castle fell into disrepair, losing one of its messenger towers. Sometime around 1400, well into the Interim Years, some powerful factions began vying for the power left behind in Waldren’s continued absence. By this time, Waldren had been occupied with trying to subdue their rebelling colonies in the north and south; far too busy to care about such petty local politics. One particularly wealthy faction took up residence in Fort Stiofán and used their prodigious income to repair and renovate the ruined fortress. The outer wall, guard towers, and oratory tower were added at this time; considerable resources were spent to securely integrate the latter into the existing structure. Eventually, these warring factions were forced to stop wrecking havoc upon the land in their endless struggle for power, and the fortress was abandoned once again. It eventually fell into the hands of King Sean, who used it as one of the two major garrisons of the newly founded Watch. In the three years between the announcement of The Watch and its eventual implementation, thousands of workers were hired to prepare the garrisons and outposts for their new residents. It was at this point that the small living quarters along the outer walls were built into the garrison. Hundreds of carpenters, woodworkers, blacksmiths, and other craftsmen were hired on behalf of the king to get the job done as efficiently and effectively as possible. Architecture Layout At the top of the page is the external view of Fort Stiofán. As you can see, the structure has been built with a few distinct layers. There’s an outer wall four floors high, an inner wall that rises about two stories higher, and a number of towers and walkways. The two towers in the front are guard towers, built to provide a defensive vantage point for fighters defending the entrance to the garrison. These towers also hold the main stairways to the other floors. The tower in the back is the messenger tower. The only surviving tower that was a part of the original castle layout, it was once part of a pair. It now holds the garrison’s rookery and a series of magic chutes to shuttle messages to and from the rookery and their intended recipients on every floor of the garrison. The large tower on the right doesn’t have a specific function, and is colloquially known as the oratory tower. It was built alongside the guard towers when the outer wall was added, and is the strongest part of the keep. As the name implies, the top floor of this tower is a private place of worship for religious Watchers to use as they see fit. The interior is plain, but elegant, with a high ceiling and large, circular windows pointing in each cardinal direction. Each outpost has an oratory such as this, albeit much smaller than Fort Stiofán’s. This is the interior view of one of Fort Stiofán’s first four floors. Pardon the poor image quality; I both drew and photographed this image on an airplane. Don’t worry about squinting to read my notes; I’ll go over the important stuff here. Anything I ignore is likely still just an idea, and may never be canon. Living Quarters The small squares between the inner and outer walls are one of the most intensive additions to the fortress. Each line represents a thin wooden wall, custom-fitted to chain together and create small living quarters for the watchers who would live there. As you can see, rooms come in single, double, and triple sizes. Each is furnished with a single desk (colored green). The quarters located on the outer wall have a small arrow slit window, with the desk fitted into the recessed embrasure. These recesses were used by archers to fire out the arrow slit while being shielded from enemy projectiles. Due to Fort Stiofán’s location, they are rarely needed. However, if the garrison is attacked, every watcher with one of these “desks” will find a harried archer standing upon it and shooting out the window. Each room holds one to three large trunks, about six feet long and two feet across (red). These are the watchers’ only guaranteed storage space. Inside each crate is a single cloak, which functions as both a blanket and outerwear. Don’t want your watchers to freeze in the winter, after all! Nailed to the top of each crate is a large bag of rough canvas, much like a massive pillowcase. This functions as a mattress. It is the watcher’s responsibility to stuff this bag with straw, blankets, or other available padding, and to change it when necessary. Due to the efficiency with which these living spaces were built, all of the chests were simple in design, yet also carried some features and styles unique to the person who made it. The only uniform feature is the type of wood, which was imported from the forests of Lantraeth. The same is true of all the renovations made to both garrisons during those three years. These quarters can only be locked from within by a small wooden latch on the door. As a result, Watchers are encouraged to keep all belongings in their chest when not in use, and locks are available for purchase at the garrison smithy. In addition, a washbasin and small stool are provided to accompany the desks. The doors to each room (purple) are lockable with a small wooden bolt, but they would likely give way to brute force, so… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ And yes, there are probably also chamber pots… but if Tolkien could write his entire high fantasy world without mentioning how elves went to the bathroom, then I can choose not to think about that unfortunate detail of Watch life. Exterior This is a zoomed-out version of the entirety of Fort Stiofán. Within the outer walls of the garrison are some workshops, a tavern, and a large courtyard. The walls themselves hold four large towers, each with rooms where guards will take breaks, eat meals, and sleep between their patrol shifts. Outside the walls are stables, pastures, fields, and scattered homes for Watchers that have sacrificed proximity to the garrison for more personal space. Since many Watchers are farmers and other laborers who help keep The Watch afloat, this is often a more convenient place to live. Bear in mind that these fields and small clusters of towns likely radiate further outwards from the garrison than I drew here. I may have gotten tired of littering tiny squares all over the empty space with no rhyme or reason… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The Stiofán tributary is an offshoot of the Guardian River. As indicated on the map, the river itself is about two miles to the south, barely an hour’s ride away.